The women of the Yagnahoula burial grounds revered the Ivory-bill Woodpecker as their Spirit Bird. The Grandmothers of the Early Woodland Age garnished pottery with a mandala of their Spirit Bird.

Each detail of the mandala (shown above) had a meaning. Every color and aspect of the mandala represented a particular Truth. The mandala served as their rendition of the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, the Torah or the Koran for modern mystics.

The United States government under the administration of President Bill Clinton recognized the Shell Mound Park (the site of the ancient women's burial grounds) as a national monument.

Mandala of Ivory-bill Woodpecker

Yagnahoula is the story of a 2,000-3000 year-old ancient women's burial grounds.

According to oral tradition, a tall, light-skinned tribe, known as the Nahoula came from the sea. They flourished along the Gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama known as the Mississippi Sound.

The bodies of these holy women literally shone, much like Christ's Transfiguration during biblical times. Since their word for shining was Yag and the word for people was Nahoula, the holy women were known as Yag-nahoula, meaning Shining Ones.

According to oral tradition, it is these holy women who are interred at this prehistoric burial site recognized by the U.S. government.